Panel to form composite concrete-reinforced wall

ABSTRACT

A panel for use in the construction of composite concretereinforced walls, consisting of two parallel sheets of pressed composition material rigidly separated by metal rod members, with metal tabs projecting from the panel sheets to bear against similar adjoining panels, together with additional steel reinforcement members between the panel sheets. The interior spaces of the panel are filled with concrete which sets to form an interlocking composite wall structure of metal rod members, additional steel reinforcements, the external panel sheet and the concrete.

United States Patent 191 Layne [451 Aug. 14, 1973 PANEL TO FORM COMPOSITE CONCRETE-REINFORCED WALL [75] Inventor: Melvin E. Layne, Reseda, Calif.

[73] Assignee: The Raymond Lee Organization,

Inc., New York, N.Y.'

22 Filed: Dec.3,1 97l 21 Appl. No.: 204,425

[52] US. Cl. 52/426, 52/593 [51] Int. Cl. F1141) 2/26 [58] Field of Search 52/426, 565

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,905,167 4/ 1933 Gracf 52/426 2,250,763 7/1941 l-lild 52/426 X 2,630,701 3/1953 Zeller et a1. 52/565 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS I 1,271,208 7/1961 France 52/426 Primary Examiner-Alfred C. Pcrham v Attomey-Howard I. Podell [571 ABS'IY'RACT A panel for use in the construction of composite concrete-reinforced walls, consisting of two parallel sheets of pressed composition material rigidly separated by metal rod members, with metal tabs projecting from the panel sheets to bear against similar adjoining panels, together with additional steel reinforcement members between the panel sheets. The interior spaces of the panel are filled with concrete which sets to form an interlocking composite wall structure of metal rod members, additional steel reinforcements, the external panel sheet and the concrete.

3C1aim,4DrawingFigures V Patented Aug. 14, 1973 3,751,867

| T i EL, 2O FIG. 4

EJ INVI'JNIOR.

A MELVIN E. LAYNE PANEL TO FORM COMPOSITE CONCRETE-REINFORCED WALL SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The purpose of my invention is to form concrete walls, such as are used in the construction of structures, with a lower labor cost and with improved appearance of surface.

A further purpose of my invention is to enable to prefabrication of basic elements of such concrete walls at locations which may be removed from the final site of construction. By virtue of the lightness of structure, such basic wall elements may be readily transported to the construction side.

A further purpose of my invention is to make the basic elements of such wall structures larger in area than conventional concrete blocks, so that fewer units need be handled by construction laborers in building a concrete wall of a given area. Such larger units will require less labor expenditure, and furthermore my invention will eliminate the costly labor of cementing the conventional blocks together with mortar.

As compared with conventional poured concerete walls, my invention eliminates the cost of removing the concrete forms by the use of light inexpensive interengaging panels which serve as permanent externalsurfaces of the finished concrete wall.

Further advantages and objectives of my invention may be understood by reference to the following description of a preferred embodiment and to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The objects and features of the invention may be understood with reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention taken together with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of the invention prior to filling the space between the boards with concrete;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of a section of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the joint between an .upper panel and a lower panel, prior to joining the two sets of panels; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the panels of FIG. 3 after joining and after the interior space between the boards are filled with concrete.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates a typical panel section 19, composed of two'sheets l and 11 of pressed composition material such as fibreboard or other light weight durable material. The sheets and II are joined by metal rods 12 at regular intervals so as to separate the sheet 10 from sheet 11 by a uniform spacing A. In the preferred embodiment, this spacing A is determined by the thickness of the panels so that the external surface of sheet 10 is spaced a distance B of 6 inches from the external surface of sheet 11. Length L of each sheet is four feet and Height H of each sheet, 2 feet in the preferred embodiment, although the form of the invention lends itself to many combinations of dimensions to suit the needs of builders and constructors.

Projecting from the lower edges 22 and 23 of panels 10 and II are metal tabs 14, the purpose of which is to align panel section 19 with adjoining panel section 20. As shown in the illustration, panel 20 is below panel I9, but these tab 14 may also project from the sides of panel 19 to align panel 19 with other similar panels on either side and above it. The location of tabs 14 is determined in such fashion that tabs from adjoining sheets do not interfere with each other, but serve to strengthen the joint between adjoining panels during construction.

Metal rods 12 which joint the sheets of a common panel are formed with interior beads 16 and 17 so as to bear against the inside surfaces of sheets 10 and 11 and maythen have external heads 15 and I8 spun, binding them to the exterior surfaces of sheets 10 and 11 so as to firmly lock sheets 10 and 11 into a rigid unit. Alternately, washers may be fixed in place on metal rod 12 so as to form the interior bearing surfaces I6 and 17 against the inside surfaces of sheets I0 and II, the washers may be then fixed in place to the outer ends of metal rod 12 after the rods have been placed between sheets I0 and 11 so as to hold the sheets firmly together.

As shown in FIG. 4, the panels are filled with concrete 14 which is allowed to set in place. For additional strength, reinforcing steel members 13 may be added, prior to pouring the concrete.

In practice, the wall panels 19 may be pre-fabricated and shipped to the job, since they are essentially of light weight construction, and the size of the panels of the preferred embodiment has been found to be compatible with conventional means of transport. At the job site, groups of panels may be joined together and held in place by tabs 14, and reinforcing steel added in the interior spacing between panel sheets. Concrete is poured as the final step in erecting a building wall. The panel sheets act to retain the concrete until it hardens, and remain as the permanent exterior surfaces of the finished wall.

It has been found in practice that where conventional reinforced concrete walls cost S l .30 per square foot to construct, for walls of six inch width, walls constructed in accordance with the teachings of my invention could be constructed for a cost of $1.07 per square foot, with the added advantage that the permanent exterior and interior surfaces of these walls would be an attractive and durable material, and one which is readily painted or otherwise decorated.

Since obvious changes may be made in the specific embodiment of the invention described herein without departing from the scope thereof, it is indicated that all mattter contained herein is intended to be interpreted in an illustrativeand not a limiting sense.

I claim:

I. A panelfor use in the construction of composite concrete-reinforced walls, which panel becomes the permanent external surfaces of the finished composite wall, with consequent improvement in the attractiveness of the external wall surfaces, said panel consisting of two similar size sheets of pressed composition material, spaced a uniform distance apart from each other,

in parallel planes, by metal rod members which are fastened to each of the panel sheets so as to form a rigid unit of the said two sheets and rod members,

with a metal tab fastened to the rod member at the interior surface of each of said sheets and located form a hollow wall-prior to the addition of reinforcing rods and the pouring of concrete.

3. A panel as described in claim 2 in which the inte rior of said panel contains additional steel members to serve as reinforcements, togehter with concrete which is poured into the interior sections of the panel and allowed to set in place, said concrete interlocking with the protruding metal tabs, said metal rod members, and

said panel sheets.

'0 a: k 1 i 

1. A panel for use in the construction of composite concretereinforced walls, which panel becomes the permanent external surfaces of the finished composite wall, with consequent improvement in the attractiveness of the external wall surfaces, said panel consisting of two similar size sheets of pressed composition material, spaced a uniform distance apart from each other, in parallel planes, by metal rod members which are fastened to each of the panel sheets so as to form a rigid unit of the said two sheets and rod members., with a metal tab fastened to the rod member at the interior surface of each of said sheets and located so as to project beyond each said sheet in the plane of the sheet, said tabs adaptable to bear against the interior surfaces of the adjoining sheets of an adjoining panel of similiar construction, said tab being pivotably joined to the rod member so as to be free to rotate about said rod member, but is restricted from travel in the axial direction of the rod member.
 2. A panel as described in claim 1 joined to similar adjoining panel by the projecting metal tabs so as to form a hollow wall prior to the addition of rEinforcing rods and the pouring of concrete.
 3. A panel as described in claim 2 in which the interior of said panel contains additional steel members to serve as reinforcements, togehter with concrete which is poured into the interior sections of the panel and allowed to set in place, said concrete interlocking with the protruding metal tabs, said metal rod members, and said panel sheets. 